“When he stood in the council chamber to speak, everyone listened,” she said. “He was a good lawmaker who left his mark on New York City government and the communities in Queens that he loved and represented so well.”

McCaffrey was known to have passed landmark legislation while in office, including renaming a portion of Queens Boulevard as the “Boulevard of Bravery” in honor of the firefighters who died in 9/11 – one of his last legislative acts.

Mayor Michael Bloomberg ordered that flags in all five boroughs be lowered to half-staff in memory of the late politician.